WASHINGTON (MNI) – The following is an initial summary of the March
U.S. sales performance of select auto manufacturers announced Friday:

* General Motors Friday reported May sales of 245,256 vehicles
in the United States, up 11% year over year and the highest monthly
total since August 2009 when dealers delivered 246,479 units. GM retail
sales were up 14% year-over-year and the retail mix was 70%. Fleet sales
increased 3%. Buick and GMC both reported sales increases of 19% and
Chevrolet was up 10%. Sales of GM small and compact cars were up 16% in
May versus a year ago. Combined sales of all seven Chevrolet, Buick, GMC
and Cadillac crossovers were up 14% versus a year ago. Full-size pickup
sales were up 23% year over year, mid-size pickup sales were up 34% and
full-size SUVs were up 14%.

* U.S. sales totaled 216,267 vehicles in May, a 13% increase
versus year-ago levels. Retail sales increased 12%. Overall, cars were
up 6%, utilities were up 12%, and trucks improved 21%. Ford also
announced its third-quarter North American production plan. The company
plans to build 690,000 vehicles in the third quarter, up 5 percent
(34,000 vehicles) from the third quarter 2011. Second quarter production
of 730,000 vehicles is unchanged from the previous guidance.

* Chrysler Group Friday reported U.S. sales of 150,041 units, a
30% increase compared with sales in May 2011 (115,363 units), and the
group’s best sales in the month of May since 2007. Chrysler Group
recorded its 26th-consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains and
its 12th-straight month of sales increases of at least 20%. Chrysler
brand sales were up 81%; best May sales in four years. Chrysler Group
finished the month with a 61-days supply of inventory (351,804 units).

* American Honda Friday reported May 2012 U.S. sales of 133,997
units, an increase of 47.6% compared to May 2011 (an increase of 36.3%
based on the daily selling rate). The Honda Division posted May 2012
sales of 119,411 units, an increase of 46.0% compared to May 2011.
Acura’s U.S. May sales of 14,586 units increased 62.1% compared to May
2011.

* Nissan North America Friday reported May U.S. sales of 91,794
units versus 76,148 units a year earlier, up 20.5%. Nissan Division
sales increased 16.4% for the month at 81,202 units. Sales of Infiniti
vehicles were up 65.8% over the prior year, to 10,592 units. Nissan’s
lineup of trucks and SUVs delivered strong gains, with sales increases
across the lineup, including: Frontier up 17.2%; Titan up 86.7%;
Pathfinder up 32.6%; and Armada up 26%.

* Subaru of America Friday reported sales for May 2012 of 29,724
vehicles, a 48.35% gain over May 2011. The company also reported
year-to-date sales of 136,602, a 21.7%% gain over the prior year.

* Mercedes-Benz USA Friday reported May sales of 22,515 for its
Mercedes-Benz models, a 19.2% improvement over May 2011, delivering a
year-to-date total of 106,364 new vehicles to customers, up 17.8%.
Combined sales of Mercedes-Benz passenger vehicles, smart and Sprinter
for the month totaled 25,259, up 24.4% bringing a year-to-date total of
117,231, up 22.8%, making this the company’s highest May on record.

* Kia Motors America’s Friday reported its best-ever May sales
of 51,771 units, a 7.4% increase over the same period last year.
Year-to-date sales are up 18.7%.

* Porsche Cars North America Friday announced May 2012 sales of
2,852 vehicles. This compares to 2,817 vehicles last May, for an
increase of 1%. For the year, Porsche has sold 13,448 cars in the U.S.,
which is a 3% increase over last year’s sales of 12,996.

** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

[TOPICS: M$U$$$,MAUDS$]